Pump motor mounting structure for ice making machine

ABSTRACT

The object is to prevent decrease in efficiency in making ice, penetration of dust into an ice making chamber, and the like and also simplify operation of taking in and out an ice making water tank. A tank housing area  30  is provided from an ice making chamber across a machine chamber  12,  and an ice making water tank T is housed, allowing it to be drawn out, in the tank housing area  30.  A motor mounting member  36  sectioning the machine chamber  12  and the tank housing area  30  is detachably placed on an upper end placement portion  32 B of a partition wall  32  sectioning the machine chamber  12  and the tank housing area  30.  A pump motor PM is mounted on a side of the motor mounting member  36  facing the machine chamber  12,  and a pump WP is mounted on a side of the motor mounting member  36  facing the tank housing area  30.  The motor mounting member  36  is supported from below by motor support pieces  74  provided in the ice making water tank T.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a pump motor mounting structure for anice making machine, and more particularly to a pump motor mountingstructure for an ice making machine provided with an ice making watertank housed in a tank housing area, allowing it to be drawn out of themachine, and a pump motor actuating a pump that supplies ice makingwater in the ice making water tank to an ice making unit.

BACKGROUND ART

Ice making machines have an ice making machine main body sectionallyformed of an ice making chamber and a machine chamber therein, and anevaporator configuring a freezing mechanism and an ice making mechanismcomposed of an ice making unit and the like are disposed in the icemaking chamber, while a compressor, a condenser, and the likeconfiguring the freezing mechanism are disposed in the machine chamber.A tank housing area is provided in a lower portion of the ice makingchamber or from the lower portion of the ice making chamber across alower portion of the machine chamber and is configured to house an icemaking water tank, allowing it to be drawn out, in the tank housingarea. Further, a pump motor that actuates a pump supplying ice makingwater in the ice making water tank to the ice making unit disposed inthe ice making chamber is disposed at a required position above the icemaking water tank. The ice making water in the ice making water tank issupplied to the ice making unit by the pump actuated by the pump motorand is made into ice in the ice making unit, and the ice making waterfailed to be frozen in the ice making unit falls down into the icemaking water tank to be collected temporarily, before supplied again tothe ice making unit. Pump motor mounting structures for such an icemaking machine are disclosed in, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2.

-   Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-Open Patent [Kohyo] Publication No.    2006-519974-   Patent Document 2: WO 00/70278

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problem to be Solved by the Invention

The ice making machine disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a storage tank(ice making water tank) being attached detachably at a lower portion ofan ice making chamber, and a pump supplying ice making water in thestorage tank to an ice making unit and a pump motor being mounted on awall in the back in the ice making chamber. Such a pump motor mountingstructure requires removing the pump and the pump motor from the walland also lifting them up for drawing the storage tank out of themachine, and the problem of difficulty in the operation of detaching thestorage tank is inherent. Further, since it requires securing a spaceabove the pump motor enabling the pump and the pump motor to be movedupward, the ice making mechanism is limited in the layout and there isalso a problem of causing an obstacle to downsizing of the ice makingmachine. Further, since moisture, chlorine, and the like generatedduring the evaporation of the ice making water adhere to the pump motor,the pump motor easily corrodes or fails, which is also a disadvantage.

Further, the flow-down type ice making machine disclosed in PatentDocument 2 has a water storage tank (ice making water tank) drawablyhoused in a tank housing area provided from a lower portion of an icemaking chamber across a lower portion of a machine chamber, and has astructure of disposing a pump, a pump motor, a float switch, and thelike in a region of the water storage tank facing the machine chamber.In such a pump motor mounting structure, the pump, the pump motor, thefloat switch, and the like are drawn out integrally with the waterstorage tank when drawing the water storage tank out of the machine.Further, since the pump motor is positioned on the side of the machinechamber, it has an advantage of hardly generating corrosion of the pumpmotor. However, since it has a structure of applying the weight of thepump, the pump motor, the float switch, and the like to the waterstorage tank all the time, there is a fear of deforming the waterstorage tank during a period of use. Further, since it has a structureof sectioning the ice making chamber and the machine chamber by a closecontact between the water storage tank and a partition wall, a gap iscreated between the water storage tank and the partition wall, if thewater storage tank is deformed as described above, causinginconveniences, such as decrease of efficiency in making ice due to coldair leakage and penetration of dust into the ice making chamber.

Thus, in view of the aforementioned problems inherent in theconventional technique, the present invention is proposed to solve themsuitably, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a pumpmotor mounting structure for an ice making machine that prevents thedecrease of the efficiency in making ice, the penetration of dust intothe ice making chamber, and the like and also is improved in themaintenance property by simplifying operation of taking the ice makingwater tank in and out.

Means for Solving the Problem

In order to solve the above problems and to achieve the given objects,the invention according to claim 1 is summarized in that a pump motormounting structure for an ice making machine, includes: an ice makingwater tank housed in a tank housing area provided, allowing it to bedrawn out of the machine, across an ice making chamber and a machinechamber defined by sandwiching a wall; and a pump motor coupled to apump supplying ice making water in the ice making water tank to an icemaking unit in the ice making chamber,

wherein a motor mounting member sectioning the machine chamber and thetank housing area is detachably placed on an upper end placement portionof a partition wall provided in the machine chamber and sectioning thetank housing area, and

the pump motor is mounted on a side of the motor mounting member facingthe machine chamber and also the pump is mounted on a side of the motormounting member facing the tank housing area to face the inside of theice making water tank housed in the tank housing area.

Effect of the Invention

According to the pump motor mounting structure for an ice making machineof the present invention, it is possible to prevent the decrease of theefficiency in making ice, the penetration of dust into the ice makingchamber, and the like and also improve the maintenance property bysimplifying the operation of taking the ice making water tank in andout.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a state of an icemaking water tank drawn out of a tank housing area provided in lowerportions of an ice making chamber and a machine chamber.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a state of the icemaking water tank housed in the tank housing area.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a motor mounting member with apump motor mounted therein and pump support pieces provided in the icemaking water tank.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of FIG. 2 taken along the line IV-IV thereof.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view illustrating a state of the motor mountingmember placed on the ice making water tank drawn out of the tank housingarea by sectioning along the line IV-IV in FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating the motor mounting memberformed integrally with a door member.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating another example of a motormounting member formed integrally with a door member.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating another example of a doormember formed integrally with a motor mounting member.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating another embodiment of an upperend placement portion on which the motor mounting member is placed.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Next, a description is given below to a pump motor mounting structurefor an ice making machine according to the present invention by way ofpreferred embodiments referring to the accompanying drawings. Thepresent invention is intended to be applied to all such ice makingmachines that have an ice making machine main body sectionally formedtherein of an ice making chamber and a machine chamber adjacent to theice making chamber, and are provided with an ice making water tankhoused in a tank housing area provided from a lower portion of the icemaking chamber across a lower portion of the machine chamber, allowingit to be drawn out of the machine, and a pump motor coupled to a pumpthat supplies ice making water in the ice making water tank to an icemaking unit. Thus, in the embodiments, a description is given only tothe regions relating to the pump motor mounting structure and, sinceframes and each panel of an ice making machine main body, a freezingmechanism, an ice making unit, and the like are differently configuredfor each ice making machine, descriptions and illustrations for them areomitted. In the embodiments, the direction in which the ice making watertank is drawn out (lower portion of FIG. 1) is defined as a foreside ofthe ice making machine, the left front seen from the foreside as a leftof the ice making machine, and the right front as a right of the icemaking machine.

Embodiments

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically illustrating an ice makingchamber 10 and a machine chamber 12 defined by sandwiching a right wall(wall) 16 described later in an ice making machine main body of an icemaking machine by omitting the ice making machine main body, a freezingmechanism, and the like. In the ice making chamber 10, an evaporatorconfiguring the freezing mechanism and an ice making mechanism composedof an ice making unit and the like, for example, are disposed, and inthe machine chamber 12, a compressor, a condenser, and the likeconfiguring the freezing mechanism are disposed. The ice making chamber10 and the machine chamber 12 are sectioned, by a section bottom plate14 configuring bottom portions of both chambers 10, 12, from an icestorage (not shown) sectioned below.

The ice making chamber 10 is, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2,surrounded, on the surrounding four sides, by a right wall 16 positionedat the border with the machine chamber 12, a left wall 18 positioned onthe left of the ice making chamber 10 opposed to the right wall 16, arear wall 20 joined respectively to a rear end of the right wall 16 anda rear end of the left wall 18, and a fore wall 22 joined respectivelyto a fore end of the right wall 16 and a fore end of the left wall 18.The right wall 16, the left wall 18, and the rear wall 20 haverespective lower ends fixed to the section bottom plate 14. The forewall 22 has a height dimension established smaller than those of theleft wall 18 and the right wall 16 in order to form a tank insertionslot 24, described later, below. An upper opening 26 is covered with anupper panel (not shown) configuring the ice making machine main body.The right wall 16, the left wall 18, the rear wall 20, the fore wall 22,and the upper panel have respective thermal insulators packaged therein,thereby allowing the ice making chamber 10 to be configured as athermally insulating box.

The machine chamber 12 is sectioned by the right wall 16 from the icemaking chamber 10, and is defined by a right side panel, a rear panel, afront panel, an upper panel, and the like configuring the ice makingmachine main body. A base plate 28 on which the compressor, thecondenser, and the like, having a heavy weight, of the freezingmechanism are mounted is disposed on an upper face of the section bottomplate 14 at the side of the machine chamber 12.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, a tank housing area 30 that houses anice making water tank T, allowing it to be drawn out of the machine, isformed from the lower portion of the ice making chamber 10 across thelower portion of the machine chamber 12 adjacent to the ice makingchamber 10. That is, the tank housing area 30 is composed of a firsthousing region 30A defined in the lower portion of the ice makingchamber 10 by a first notch 16A provided at a lower foreside of theright wall 16 and a second housing region 30B defined at a lowerforeside of the machine chamber 12 in spatial communication with thefirst housing region 30A, and assumes approximately an L shape in a planview. Further, a second notch 28A that fits the tank housing area 30 isformed at a left foreside of the base plate 28. Thereby, the tankhousing area 30 is defined such that the upper face of the sectionbottom plate 14 is set as a tank placement plane and is set to be flathaving a height H.

The second housing region 30B of the tank housing area 30 and themachine chamber 12 are designed to be completely sectioned, asillustrated in FIG. 1, by a longitudinal partition wall (partition wall)32 provided upright along the border between the tank housing area 30and the machine chamber 12 and a motor mounting member 36 describedlater. The longitudinal partition wall 32 is an integrally formedcomponent made of, for example, a synthetic resin, and has a lower endmounting piece 32A extending horizontally along the lower end edge, anupper end placement piece (upper end placement portion) 32B extendinghorizontally along the upper end edge, and a fore end mounting piece 32Cbending to the right along the fore end edge. The lower end mountingpiece 32A is served for mounting the longitudinal partition wall 32 onthe base plate 28. The upper end placement portion 32B is served formounting the motor mounting member 36 being placed thereon. The fore endmounting piece 32C is served for mounting a door member 48 describedlater. Additionally, a thermally insulating member, not shown, isattached on the longitudinal partition wall 32 to thermally insulate theice making chamber 10 and the tank housing area 30.

The motor mounting member 36 is, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 6, anintegrally formed component made of, for example, a synthetic resin, andis formed in a rectangular plate shape to cover an opening 34 that isformed by the right wall 16 and the longitudinal partition wall 32 andis in communication with the tank insertion slot 24 in a state of beingplaced on the upper end placement portion 32B of the longitudinalpartition wall 32. Upon placing the motor mounting member 36 on theupper end placement portion 32B, the motor mounting member 36 isconfigured to abut the right wall 16 at the left side face thereof,enabling to seal the machine chamber 12 and the tank housing area 30.Further, the motor mounting member 36 is provided with, not only a motorinstallation area 38 in a rectangular frame shape for mounting a pumpmotor PM, but also a switch installation area 40 for a float switch (notshown), a pipe coupling portion 42 to which a water feed tube iscoupled, and the like. On the motor installation area 38, an opening 44is formed that allows the insertion of a pump WP (FIG. 6) coupled to thepump motor PM. Additionally, a thermally insulating member 46 is mountedon the upper face of the motor mounting member 36 in the regionexcluding the motor installation area 38 to thermally insulate the icemaking chamber 10 and the tank housing area 30.

Further, the motor mounting member 36 is, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and6, provided with the door member 48 facing the tank insertion slot 24that allows communication between the tank housing area 30 and theoutside of the machine. The motor mounting member 36 and the door member48 are integrally formed in a state of bending approximately at a rightangle. The door member 48 is positioned at the right of the tankinsertion slot 24 when the ice making water tank T is housed in the tankhousing area 30, and functions to thermally insulate the ice makingchamber 10 and the tank housing area 30. Additionally, the door member48 can also be formed in such a shape that can cover the entire openingregion of the tank insertion slot 24.

The motor mounting member 36 and the door member 48 are, as illustratedin FIGS. 1 and 2, separably fixed to the upper end placement portion 32Band the fore end mounting piece 32C of the longitudinal partition wall32 by a first mounting screw (fixation means) S1 and a second mountingscrew S2. That is, a first screw insertion hole 52 that fits a firstthreaded hole 50 formed at a corner of the upper end placement portion32B is formed at the right rear corner of the motor mounting member 36.When the motor mounting member 36 is positioned appropriately, the firstthreaded hole 50 and the first screw insertion hole 52 fit each other,and by screwing the first mounting screw S1 into the first threaded hole50 via the first screw insertion hole 52, the motor mounting member 36is fixed in a state of being placed on the upper end placement portion32B. Further, a second screw insertion hole 56 that fits a secondthreaded hole 54 formed at a lower end of the fore end mounting piece32C is formed at the vertical center in the right end of the door member48. As the door member 48 is positioned appropriately, the secondthreaded hole 54 and the second screw insertion hole 56 fit each other,and by screwing the second mounting screw S2 into the second threadedhole 54 via the second screw insertion hole 56, the door member 48 isfixed to the fore end mounting piece 32C of the longitudinal partitionwall 32. Additionally, the motor mounting member 36 and the door member48 can be separated from the longitudinal partition wall 32 byrespectively removing the first mounting screw S1 and the secondmounting screw S2 screwed into the first screw insertion hole 52 and thesecond screw insertion hole 56 respectively.

In this embodiment, the pump motor PM coupled to the pump WP isconfigured to be mounted on the motor installation area 38 provided inthe motor mounting member 36, as mentioned above and also illustrated inFIGS. 3 and 5. That is, the pump motor PM is provided with a mountingplate 58 in a rectangular plate shape that fits the motor installationarea 38 in a rectangular frame shape. At a fore end of the mountingplate 58, as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 6, a third screw insertion hole62 is formed that fits a third threaded hole 60 formed at a fore end ofthe motor installation area 38. Further, as illustrated in FIG. 4, alatch claw 58A that is latched in a latch receiver 38A formed at a rearend of the motor installation area 38 is formed at a rear end of themounting plate 58 in a state of projecting backward. Accordingly, underthe condition where the pump WP is inserted from the upper face via theopening 44 and the latch claw 58A is latched in the latch receiver 38Awhile the mounting plate 58 is fitted to the motor installation area 38,a third mounting screw S3 is screwed into the third threaded hole 60 viathe third screw insertion hole 62 fitted to the third threaded hole 60,thereby allowing the pump motor PM to be fixed to the motor mountingmember 36 and also the opening 44 to be completely covered with themounting plate 58.

Accordingly, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 4, when the motor mountingmember 36 is fixed to the upper end placement portion 32B of thelongitudinal partition wall 32, the pump motor PM is mounted on theupper face of the motor mounting member 36 facing a side of the machinechamber 12. Further, the pump WP is mounted on the lower face of themotor mounting member 36 facing a side of the tank housing area 30 so asto face the inside of the ice making water tank T housed in the tankhousing area 30. That is, since the pump motor PM is positioned in themachine chamber 12 isolated from the ice making chamber 10 (tank housingarea 30), the pump motor PM is configured not to be adhered by moisture,chlorine, and the like due to the evaporation of the ice making water inthe ice making water tank T.

The ice making water tank T is, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, formedin a tray shape with a shape and a size capable of being fitted to andhoused in the tank housing area 30 having the height H, and is composedof a first tank area T1 housed in the first housing region 30A and asecond tank area T2 projecting to the right from the first tank area T1and housed in the second housing region 30B. A bottom face of the icemaking water tank T is inclined downwardly to the foreside and alsodownwardly to the right, and is deepest in a region at a right end ofthe second tank area T2. A horizontal rib 70 extending horizontally andoutwardly is provided on the upper edge of the ice making water tank Textending across the entire circumference, and a vertical rib 72projecting above is provided on the end edge of the horizontal rib 70across the entire circumference along the horizontal rib 70 extendingly.

As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 6, motor support pieces 74 (motor supportportions) that support the motor mounting member 36 from below whendrawing out the ice making water tank T are provided in the second tankarea T2, which is a region of the ice making water tank T facing themachine chamber 12. The motor support pieces 74 are ribs provided so asto project above from the upper face of the horizontal rib 70 spacedapart on the fore and rear sides, and in this embodiment, four of themotor support pieces 74 in total are disposed apart from each other inthe direction of left and right and the direction of fore and rear. Eachmotor support piece 74 has, as illustrated in FIG. 4, a dimension of theprojection height established in such a manner that the tip end thereofmakes contact with the lower face of the motor mounting member 36 placedon the upper end placement portion 32B when the ice making water tank Tis drawn out of the tank housing area 30. That is, the motor mountingmember 36 having the pump motor PM mounted thereon is configured to besupported from below by each motor support piece 74 of the ice makingwater tank T housed in the tank housing area 30.

Operation of Embodiment

Next, a description is given to operation of an ice making machineaccording to this embodiment configured as described above.

When the ice making water tank T is housed in the tank housing area 30,the motor mounting member 36 with the pump WP and the pump motor PMmounted thereon is set from above to the second tank area T2 of the icemaking water tank T. The pump WP and the pump motor PM are mounted onthe motor mounting member 36 by the mounting plate 58 without backlash,and also the motor mounting member 36 is supported from below by each ofthe four motor support pieces 74 provided in the ice making water tank Tand is stably placed on the ice making water tank T. Then, the pump WPcoupled to the pump motor PM is in a state of being hung inside the icemaking water tank T.

Then, the ice making water tank T having the motor mounting member 36placed thereon on which the pump motor PM is mounted is pushed into thetank housing area 30 via the tank insertion slot 24 opened at the foreface of the ice making machine main body. Here, in the process ofpushing the ice making water tank T into the tank housing area 30, theright end of the motor mounting member 36, which is placed on the icemaking water tank T, slides while making contact with the upper face ofthe upper end placement portion 32B in the longitudinal partition wall32. Then, as the ice making water tank T is housed completely in thetank housing area 30, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the rear end of themotor mounting member 36 overlaps the upper face of the upper endplacement portion 32B in the longitudinal partition wall 32 and also theright end of the door member 48 abuts the fore face of the fore endmounting piece 32C in the longitudinal partition wall 32.

Then, the first threaded hole 50 and the first screw insertion hole 52fit as the motor mounting member 36 is positioned relative to thelongitudinal partition wall 32, and thus the motor mounting member 36 isfixed to the longitudinal partition wall 32 by screwing the firstmounting screw S1 into the first threaded hole 50 via the first screwinsertion hole 52. Further, the second threaded hole 54 and the secondscrew insertion hole 56 fit, and thus the door member 48 is fixed to thelongitudinal partition wall 32 by screwing the second mounting screw S2into the second threaded hole 54 via the second screw insertion hole 56.Thereby, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 5, the motor mounting member 36and the door member 48 are mounted on the longitudinal partition wall 32fixed to the base plate 28, and thus the tank housing area 30 and themachine chamber 12 are sectioned from each other appropriately, whilethe pump WP faces the inside of the ice making water tank T and also thepump motor PM faces the inside of the machine chamber 12. Additionally,as the motor mounting member 36 is placed on and fixed to the upper endplacement portion 32B, the motor mounting member 36 abuts the right wall16 at the left side face thereof, and thus the machine chamber 12 andthe tank housing area 30 are sealed.

When the ice making water tank T is drawn out of the tank housing area30, the first mounting screw S1 and the second mounting screw S2 arefirstly removed, and subsequently the ice making water tank T is drawnout forwardly of the tank insertion slot 24. At this point, asillustrated in FIGS. 1 and 5, the motor mounting member 36 is supportedby each motor support piece 74 of the ice making water tank T, and thusit moves horizontally and forwardly at the height where it is placed onthe upper end placement portion 32B of the longitudinal partition wall32 and transferred to the ice making water tank T. That is, the motormounting member 36 with the pump motor PM mounted thereon is transferredto the ice making water tank T drawn out forwardly via the tankinsertion slot 24, and thus the ice making water tank T can be drawn outwithout moving the pump WP and the pump motor PM upwardly.

In this way, the ice making machine according to this embodiment issectioned into the tank housing area 30 (ice making chamber 10) and themachine chamber 12 by the motor mounting member 36 with the pump motorPM mounted thereon, which is coupled to the pump WP, and thus a wallsectioning the ice making chamber 10 and the machine chamber 12 can bepartially omitted, so that it is possible to reduce the costs due tocutback in configuration members. Then, there is no gap defined betweenthe machine chamber 12 and the tank housing area 30 because of the motormounting member 36, and thus it is possible to prevent decrease in theefficiency in making ice and also possible to prevent penetration ofdust into the tank housing area 30 and the ice making chamber 10.Further, the pump motor PM is mounted on the side of the machine chamber12, and thus the moisture, chlorine, and the like due to the evaporationof the ice making water do not adhere to the pump motor PM, making itpossible to suitably prevent generation of corrosion and failures of thepump motor PM caused by the adhesion.

Then, when the ice making water tank T is drawn out towards the foresideof the ice making machine, the motor mounting member 36 with the pump WPand the pump motor PM mounted thereon is moved in a state of beingplaced on the ice making water tank T together with the ice making watertank T, so that it is not required to lift the pump WP and the pumpmotor PM upward and the operation of drawing out the ice making watertank T can be carried out simply. Similarly, when the ice making watertank T is housed into the tank housing area 30, it is not required tolift the pump WP and the pump motor PM upward, and thus the operation ofhousing the ice making water tank T can also be carried out simply.Further, since it is not required to secure a space above the positionof disposing the pump motor PM, the volume of the machine chamber 12 canbe made smaller and also the degree of freedom in layout of accessorycomponents disposed in the machine chamber 12 become greater.

Further, the motor mounting member 36 placed on the upper end placementportion 32B is fixed to the upper end placement portion 32B by the firstmounting screw S1, and thus the motor mounting member 36 can bemaintained in the appropriately mounted state even if vibrations aregenerated due to rotations of the pump motor PM and the pump WP.Further, since the motor mounting member 36 is provided with the doormember 48 facing the tank insertion slot 24, the tank housing area 30can be thermally insulated and also cost reduction can be expected dueto the cutback in the item number of configuration components.

Additionally, the motor mounting member 36 with the pump WP and the pumpmotor PM mounted thereon is fixed in a state of being placed on theupper end placement portion 32B of the longitudinal partition wall 32,and thus the total weight of the pump WP, the pump motor PM, and thelike is not applied to the ice making water tank T even though the motorsupport pieces 74 provided in the ice making water tank T support themotor mounting member 36 from below. Accordingly, deformation of the icemaking water tank T due to application of the weight of the pump WP andthe pump motor PM rarely occurs. Even in case that the ice making watertank T is deformed, the section between the tank housing area 30 and themachine chamber 12 by the motor mounting member 36 is maintainedappropriately, so that decrease in the efficiency in making ice can beprevented and also penetration of dust into the tank housing area 30 andthe ice making chamber 10 are prevented.

(Modifications)

Although, in the embodiment, a case is exemplified where the motormounting member 36 and the door member 48 are integrally formed in aposition to be at a right angle to each other, the motor mounting member36 and the door member 48 may also be formed in a single plane shape, asillustrated in FIG. 7, by providing a self-hinge 80 at the border. In acase where the motor mounting member 36 and the door member 48 areformed in a single plane shape in such a manner, the motor mountingmember 36 and the door member 48 are formed integrally and subsequentlythe door member 48 is bent at 90 degrees to the motor mounting member 36in the self-hinge 80, thereby enabling it to be formed in the shapeidentical to the attachment state illustrated in FIG. 6.

The door member 48 may also be formed in a shape matching the shape ofthe opening of the tank insertion slot 24, as mentioned above and alsoillustrated in FIG. 8. In this case, the door member 48 covering thetank insertion slot 24 is configured integrally with the motor mountingmember 36 as a single member, and thus further cost reduction due tocutback in the item number of the configuration components can beexpected. Further, since the tank insertion slot 24 is completelycovered with the door member 48, improvement in thermal insulationeffect of the tank housing area 30 and the ice making chamber 10 can beexpected.

Further, as illustrated in FIG. 9, a region horizontally extending tothe right along the right wall 16 may be added to the upper endplacement portion 32B. In this case, the three sides, i.e., the leftedge, the rear edge, and the right edge of the motor mounting member 36can be supported by the upper end placement portion 32B, and thus themotor mounting member 36 is supported stably and also the weight of thepump WP, the pump motor PM, and the like can be received by the upperend placement portion 32B. Accordingly, when the motor mounting member36 is placed on the upper end placement portion 32B, each motor supportpiece 74 can be configured to be spaced apart from the lower face of themotor mounting member 36, and also the weight of the pump WP, the pumpmotor PM, and the like can be prevented from being applied to the icemaking water tank T.

Further, a region to fit each motor support piece 74 on the lower faceof the motor mounting member 36 may be provided with a recess to whichthe tip end of each motor support piece 74 is fit, a projection which islatched in the motor support piece 74, or the like. In this case, eachmotor support piece 74 is engaged with the motor mounting member 36 whenthe motor mounting member 36 is placed on the ice making water tank T,so that the motor mounting member 36 can be placed stably on the icemaking water tank T when the ice making water tank T is drawn outforwardly and is housed into the tank housing area 30.

The motor support portions 74 provided in the ice making water tank Tare not limited to the rib shaped projections exemplified in theembodiment, but may also be in shapes other than that as long as theycan support the motor mounting member 36 from below. For example, byforming the horizontal rib 70 itself into a shape bulged above, it ispossible to allow the bulged portion to function as the motor supportportion 74.

1. A pump motor mounting structure for an ice making machine,comprising: an ice making water tank (T) housed in a tank housing area(30) provided, allowing it to be drawn out of the machine, across an icemaking chamber (10) and a machine chamber (12) defined by sandwiching awall (16); and a pump motor (PM) coupled to a pump (WP) supplying icemaking water in the ice making water tank (T) to an ice making unit inthe ice making chamber (10), wherein a motor mounting member (36)sectioning the machine chamber (12) and the tank housing area (30) isdetachably placed on an upper end placement portion (32B) of a partitionwall (32) provided in the machine chamber (12) and sectioning the tankhousing area (30), and the pump motor (PM) is mounted on a side of themotor mounting member (36) facing the machine chamber (12) and also thepump (WP) is mounted on a side of the motor mounting member (36) facingthe tank housing area (30) to face an inside of the ice making watertank (T) housed in the tank housing area (30).
 2. The pump motormounting structure for an ice making machine according to claim 1,wherein a motor support portion (74) supporting the motor mountingmember (36) from below when drawing out the ice making water tank (T) isprovided in a region (T2) housed in the tank housing area (30) on a sideof the machine chamber (12) in the ice making water tank (T).
 3. Thepump motor mounting structure for an ice making machine according toclaim 1 or 2, comprising fixation means (S1) separably fixing the motormounting member (36) and the upper end placement portion (32B).
 4. Thepump motor mounting structure for an ice making machine according to anyone of claims 1 to 3, wherein the motor mounting member (36) is providedwith a door member (48) facing a tank insertion slot (24) that allowscommunication between the tank housing area (30) and the outside of themachine.